Minnesota man whose dirty napkin led to his arrest in 1993 murder released after posting $500,000 bond

Jerry Westrom, 52, was charged with second-degree murder in the death of Jeanne Ann “Jeanie” Childs. (Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office)

The Minnesota man who was charged in a 1993 fatal stabbing after his DNA on a dirty napkin linked him to the crime has been released, records show.

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Jerry Westrom, 52, posted $500,000 bond and was released from custody Friday, according to Hennepin County online records. He is accused of fatally stabbing 35-year-old Jeanne Ann “Jeanie” Childs in her boyfriend’s apartment.

Westrom was charged with second-degree murder.

Authorities said Westrom’s arrest came after they began tracking him, including once at a local hockey rink in January. Police observed him buying food from the concession stand, wiping his mouth with a napkin and then throwing it out.

Investigators snatched the napkin from the garbage and sent it in for DNA testing. Weeks later, detectives learned it was a match for DNA and semen found in Childs’ apartment during the initial murder investigation 26 years earlier, according to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.

But Westrom’s lawyer is disputing the charges, saying prosecutors jumped the gun.

At his client’s court appearance Friday, Steven Meshbesher noted that Childs was a prostitute and the DNA collected at the crime scene came from sperm, according to MPR News.

“The sperm shows up allegedly matching, but not the blood," Meshbesher said. "What we've got is not any record of violence, not connecting it to the blood, not to the weapon — because they didn't find it."

Prosecutors said two sperm samples were taken from a comforter and a towel, while two other “non-sperm cell fraction” samples were also taken from the two items, according to the criminal complaint.

Westrom told police he was never in Childs’ apartment and did not recognize her. When asked why his DNA was found on the scene, he said he did not know.